


Fighting Heat With Cold

by BlackBat09



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bad Puns, Coldflash Week 2017, Coldflash Week 2017b, Creepy Harrison Wells | Eobard Thawne, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Scenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 09:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12251430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBat09/pseuds/BlackBat09
Summary: After his new healing factor forces Barry off suppressants, he finds himself dealing with all the worst parts of being an omega, including his monthly heat cycle. Determined to prove that his status won't keep him down, Barry continues Flash duties through his cycle, including facing down Captain Cold.





	Fighting Heat With Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Oookay, quick primer on the dynamics of this particular AU: Alphas have penises, omegas have vaginas, betas are what we'd consider intersex. Gender is far more flexible, although sexism is still a thing and usually has more to do with your status than your gender. Heats are akin to a menstrual cycle; they involve cramping, bloating, mood swings, and most omegas find themselves with a desire for physical contact (not necessarily sex) that sucks but is manageable. There is no loss of inhibitions, no overwhelming desire for sex, and _no under-the-influence dub-con._
> 
> Please enjoy cuddling and stupid puns.

There are two major changes in Barry Allen’s life after he gets struck by lightning.

One is, _duh_ , the superpowers. He can break the _sound barrier_ when he runs, with lightning coursing through his veins, and that’s just cool.

Two is… well, it’s actually the superpowers’ fault. His heightened metabolism has utterly ruined the perfect balance of hormones and prescription suppressants he’s been on since he was just a kid, forcing him out of the comfortable neutrality he's had for so long and into everyone's eye as an omega. And it's not that Barry is ashamed of it or anything, it's just hard. Barry's not confident in his status like Cisco is, with his candy sweet scent unsuppressed and his collection of punny shirts about being an omega, things that make Barry nervous for his friend no matter how many times Cisco tells him that he's fine, that more people bother him about continuing to work for STAR Labs than about his status.

Caitlin has thankfully managed to get Barry back on T, his dosage adjusted for his body's changes, but she’d been apologetic when she explained that she wasn't comfortable increasing his suppressants to the same levels for fear of poisoning him, a decision that Dr. Wells had backed, and Barry found himself wanting his suppressants even more as he fought off the instincts telling him to bend to the alpha’s will. Maybe Barry’s just being paranoid, but it seems to him that Wells is far too willing to throw the weight of his status around with his two omega employees and Barry, which is why he turns down both Caitlin and Cisco’s offers to take a break from their suppressants and help him through his first few heats.

Iris is there for the very first, Barry taking time off work with a note from Caitlin giving some excuse about his body needing to detox from the high levels of suppressants he'd been on for years. It's miserable, cramps making him ache from his scalp to the soles of his feet, with no respite in the form of painkillers, but he makes it through with a heating pad against his abdomen and Iris holding him, her own sweet scent plus hints of Eddie’s alpha musk helping Barry relax. He toughs it out at work after the first one, masking his heightened scent with neutralizing spray and applying peel and stick heating pads to his lower back and abdomen, determined not to let his status get the better of him. Eddie, out of concern and with Iris’ encouragement, comes up to check on Barry a few times a day, scenting him and giving him the physical contact he craves to soothe his aches and pains.

Eddie’s scent still clings to Barry when he gets to STAR Labs, nearly resulting in a shouting match between him and Wells before Barry flashes into his suit and out onto the streets against the older man’s wishes, working twice as hard to prove that his heat won't keep him down. He gets shit from a few criminals, a few people who find it amusing that an omega is running around playing hero, or generally angry people like Hartley Rathaway, who sneers at Cisco that his days as Wells’ knotwarmer are numbered now that Barry is on the scene, and is only saved from Barry’s wrath by Caitlin and Cisco literally dragging Barry away from the pipeline.

Besides people like that, though, he gets the job done, even if he is invariably more miserable than he was when he suited up. But he survives, and so both work and Flash duties continue through his monthly heats.

It's just Barry's luck that he's in heat the first time he sees Cold after they make their deal.

Snart has actually pleasantly surprised Barry by not mentioning his status, not even once, instead picking on him for his age or his hero complex, things Barry can totally handle, but it’s the end of the night and Barry’s hurting and he really doesn’t feel like dealing with the Rogues.

It’s only Cold in the jewelry shop where Cisco had detected the temperature drop, thankfully, smirking at Barry when he steps through the open doors and hoisting the cold gun against his shoulder as a diamond necklace dangles from his fingers.

“Really, Snart? You just can’t resist the ice, can you?”

Snart’s grin only grows, pocketing the necklace before turning his gun on Barry with that casual grace of his. “Had to get you here somehow, Scarlet. I heard you’ve been rather _heated_ lately; figured I could help you _chill_.”

Barry’s face twitches with irritation; _really_? He’s punning about Barry’s _heat_?; but the whir of the cold gun quickly distracts him, forcing him to flash out of the way, zooming around the store as he and Cold resume their usual dance of cold versus speed. He can’t quite get close enough to punch Snart for his stupid comment the way he wants to, but he hasn’t been hit yet, dodging every icy blast until his body decides it hates him.

A cramp wracks his body, thighs and abdomen going tight as pain ripples through him, and Barry stumbles- directly into a blast of cold that ices over his chest and sends him sprawling onto his back, gasping for air and shaking, distressed whines and whimpers leaving him without his permission as he tries and fails to focus his attention enough to start vibrating.

He can hear the clamor from the cortex over his comms, but Snart’s curse and the clatter of his cold gun hitting the ground are louder, the alpha crossing the room with a stream of swearing and Barry’s name before he drops heavily to his knees beside his downed nemesis.

“Cisco, heat threading, _now_!” Snart barks, and Barry wants to snap back at him for daring to boss his friend around, but the threading in his suit comes to life, melting away the ice and warming Barry up, heat soaking into his tight muscles and soothing the sharp pains that got him into this mess in the first place. Snart reaches over Barry, his gloves and parka keeping him safe from the melting ice on Barry's chest, and promptly scoops him into his lap and presses his face into the curve of Snart’s neck.

He smells heavenly; the crisp bite of winter air before a snowfall, the slight bitterness of dark chocolate, the coolness of mint; and Barry wiggles further into his lap, purr vibrating in his chest that makes Snart chuckle, wrapping his arms and the open panels of his parka around Barry’s frame to keep him close. Snart is so _warm_ , or maybe Barry’s just cold, but either way the feeling of someone else pressed against him and the smell of them in his nose hits all the right spots in Barry’s brain, the awfulness of his heat dialing back with the dose of intimacy.

“Alpha.” Murmuring it against Snart’s skin just seems right, even though the older man tenses and hesitates before he replies.

“Omega.” Barry’s pleased chitter and Snart’s quiet, rumbling purr are interrupted by a snarl in Barry’s ears that shocks him out of the pleasant moment, frown flitting across his features.

_Wells._

“Cisco, I’m going dark,” Barry announces, unwrapping his arms from around Snart and reaching up to turn off his comms, Cisco and Caitlin’s shocked noises and Wells’ “Barry, don’t you _dare_ -” cut off when Barry flicks off the electronics and, for good measure, pushes his cowl off his head before burying his face back in Snart’s neck.

“Trouble in paradise?” the alpha asks, laughing lowly when Barry pulls a face against his skin, fingers gently tracing the line of Barry’s spine over his suit.

“Our boss- my mentor- he’s an alpha. We’re omegas, so he... _worries_.” Understatement of the century.

Snart’s little ‘hm’ sounds unimpressed by the explanation, his hand halting for a second so he can pull off his gloves and hover a hand over the back of Barry’s neck, a silent question that gets an encouraging nod from Barry. He hums, pleased, as Snart; Barry should probably be calling him ‘Leonard’ while he scents the man like this, but whatever; wraps his hand around Barry’s neck, thumb brushing through the fringe of hair at his nape while his fingertips press against one of Barry’s scent glands, drawing more happy sounds from Barry.

“From what I’ve gathered, your mentor is a colossal knothead,” Leonard drawls, “but I do see why he worries.” Barry bristles a little at that, shoulders hunched and brows furrowed as his fingers dig sharply into Leonard’s back through his shirt.

“You’re not my alpha, Snart.”

“No, I’m not,” Leonard agrees, sounding amused and not at all offended, not pointing out that Barry had called him ‘Alpha’ but a few moments before. “However, I am an alpha with a vested interest in Barry Allen, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t like how you… _run yourself ragged_ during your heats.”

The pun is just so _bad_ , and Leonard obviously knows it, that Barry can’t stop himself from laughing, huffing giggles against the older man’s throat as Leonard leans into him more, hiding the grin Barry can feel on the man’s lips in the mess of his cowl hair. Barry sighs after his laughter dies out, sitting in Leonard’s grip and letting the alpha nose at his hair, before a thought occurs to him.

“How did you know I was on my cycle, anyway?” he questions, lifting his head to squint at Leonard and catching the minuscule flash of sheepishness on the man’s face before it arranges into his trademark smirk.

“Barry, the entire city knows when the Flash is in heat. The toughest, most attractive, most _eligible_ omega in town goes into heat, and you’ll find even the most straight-laced people asking themselves if they should go hold up a convenience store, just to see if the Flash will be the one to intercept them.”

Barry keeps squinting, hoping to make Leonard crack and admit that he’s just teasing, but the smirk stays in place and he simply raises an eyebrow.

Barry is _mortified_.

“You’re serious?” Barry demands, not letting the alpha answer before ducking his head against Leonard’s shoulder and groaning pathetically, the silent shake of Leonard’s body as he laughs at Barry’s misery totally not helping. “What’s wrong with people!?”

A gentle squeeze of his nape and a soft purr help keep Barry from getting too agitated, though he still pouts as Leonard breathes a few more quiet chuckles. “You’re attractive. You smell nice. You smell _unmated_. That’ll turn anyone’s head, regardless of sex. Add in the whole fearless, selfless defender of Central bit, and you’re the hottest commodity out there, especially when your heat has you turned up to ten.”

Barry huffs in reply, still grumpy and slightly weirded out at the idea that the _whole city_ apparently tracks the Flash’s cycle, but doesn’t let go of Leonard, just basking in the contact with the alpha and the way it soothes the persistent aches and itches of heat, fingers idly tracing circles and lightning bolts against the man’s back.

“So… Do you think the Flash is hot, Leonard?” Barry asks innocently, not quite sure of the answer he expects or the one he wants. The thief makes a show of thinking about it, leaving Barry in suspense for what can’t be more than a few seconds: a _lifetime_ for a speedster.

“Nah,” Leonard answers, too casual, and Barry sits up to look at him, eyes narrowed at the smirk on Leonard’s face. “But I do think the kid’s pretty cool.”

Barry kisses Leonard soundly, saving the city from more of Captain Cold’s _awful_ puns.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me at blackbat16 on tumblr! Your kudos and comments are greatly appreciated <3


End file.
